It was obvious to us even before President George W. Bush announced his soon-to-be-the-end-all-be-all economic stimulus plan on Thursday, one that our elected representatives and senators will, no doubt, fall all over themselves to pass - for the common folk, you know.

After we had already penned an editorial hoping for a sensible real-life helping plan, the president said that one of the hallmarks of his plan will be cutting taxes on stock dividends.

Aaaarrrrgggg!

Won't that plan come as welcome news to the second shift at Tyson? Won't all the folks walking down Main Street in Dover appreciate the effort? Won't that idea make all the difference in the world to the next five people who walk in the door here at The Courier?

No. Doubtful. Not a chance.

Cutting taxes on stock dividends is obviously the thing to do to bring the nation's economy out of the doldrums. Consumer spending drives the economy, and what will make Middle America spend, spend, spend more than the chance to reap a double-digit windfall in dividends on the dozen shares of Wal-Mart stock they've been holding since the first Bush presidency? And for the majority of Americans who own nary a stock one, well, we're sure that they'll feel better knowing that a few people are doing better because of our elected officials' thoughtfulness.

What most of our leaders are painfully unaware of - or blatantly ignore - is that Americans care a whole lot more about how much of a bite taxes take out of their check and how much gasoline costs at the pump and why a gallon of milk costs $3 than whether they'll ever have the chance to have their capital gains tax nibbled down a little bit.

Stock dividends and capital gains and myriad forms of accounting chicanery mean nothing to the vast majority of Americans. Folks who earn livings and get by as best they can don't have time to worry about those things that Enron dreams are made of. They're too busy fretting over natural gas bills and scrimping for Junior's college and sacrificing for Sally's soccer shoes that she'll grow out of before next season.

President Bush said he would try to keep the debate about his stimulus plan from becoming an argument on "class warfare." The best way to do that would be to offer a plan that doesn't beg the question. He's failed to date.